TWICE - “Between 1&2” Album Review
The prominent K-pop idol group, TWICE, have finally released “Between 1&2,” their second comeback album of the year, following their very successful Japanese album, “Celebrate.”
“Between 1&2” had its opening trailer teased for the mini album on August 8, leaving interpretations for a nostalgic atmosphere and high hopes for something new.
The girl group is generally known for their bubble pop sound mixed with their occasional girl-crush themes and are often seen to be major third-gen idols, who are heavily backed by a devoted fanbase.
Despite their well deserved recognition, it is unfortunate to say that, overall, this album falls short when it comes to musicality, lyrics and a general feeling of uniqueness.
Every TWICE member is incredibly talented, with long-term backgrounds in singing and dancing. This album, however, has next to no moments displaying these abilities.
The first track “Talk that Talk,” albeit catchy and fun, is incredibly basic. With its purpose being to reference their other songs throughout, it feels like a bit of a cop out. Any fan can of course appreciate this aspect, but at the same time, it’s quite disappointing for a title track.
Listening to the album for the first time, aside from “Talk that Talk,” the songs blend together and make for a tedious experience.
“Basics,” “Trouble,” “Brave,” and “Gone” all have a slight, slow build to a more upbeat sound around the 45-50 second mark. As well as dropping back to their chorus around the exact same time, every time.
The fact that the same chorus building formula is used in each song doesn’t add any excitement to the full album experience, and it’s quite upsetting to say the least. If the songs were released individually it’s possible to say that maybe they would’ve sounded better.
“Queen of Hearts” also follows the same pattern, but it’s one of the better songs on the album. It upkeeps a pleasant “women are powerful” message. Even though it’s not creative, it’s a nice singalong and is a little more rock pop than other songs they've done.
Additionally, throughout “Queen of Hearts,” rap members get the chance to sing a bit more than normal and all the members explore their upper range.
The last track on the album, “When We Were Kids,” is the most laidback song of the album and feels like a respectable outro after listening to the same format for almost 15 minutes.
Because of the very industry and mechanical sound of the album, it’s fair to say that “Between 1&2” just isn’t a good album. That’s not to say that the individual songs don’t have replayability, but releasing them together is just cruel and lazy work.
TWICE is undoubtedly capable of presenting solid performances which will hopefully make up for the general monotonous album, but as a fan this is off putting.
In the future, production should be given a little more attention rather than focusing on just getting the music out in time.
It’d also be a nice surprise to hear the group have a track which allows them to showcase their lower range.
Rating: 3/10
Reviewer’s favorite songs: “Talk that Talk”
Reviewer’s least favorite: N/A
Erell Williams is a second-year majoring in broadcasting journalism. To contact her, email exw5303@psu.edu.
